Month: June 2011

Reaction to the Speech from the Throne

Governor General David Johnston read the 136th Speech from the Throne Friday in the Senate. I found it an underwhelming affair:

… one could not help but be struck by the poverty of both the ceremony and the content of the speech. It was a pro forma event bereft of any trappings that our great nation could have mustered – why not have the GG arrive on Parliament Hill in the splendour of the royal landau, for example – and the speech was an unsurprising collection of bullet points from the Conservative's campaign platform … No one wanted a speech of partisan triumphalism but surely we could have expected some statesman-like nation-building and leadership.

The editorial board of The Globe and Mail, on the other hand, found it to be a satisfactory document:

Stephen Harper has honoured his promise, immediately after the election, not to present the Canadian public with surprises. There were no marked deviations … On the whole, the speech effectively communicated the prospect of four years of good governance.

Here's a bit of the reaction from some other political players on the Hill:

Leader of the Official Opposition Jack Layton (NDP – Toronto-Danforth)

It was really a recitation of what they had proposed to do before, not really much of an outreach to other parties to say hey, let’s work on some problems together.  So that’s disappointing.  We didn’t hear anything about real job creation, the goods jobs that need to be part of helping to get people out of unemployment and build the future of the country, nothing on the Canada Pension Plan and retirement security in a significant way and that’s a huge problem for Canadians.  Family doctors, things we need now for health care.  Everything was way off in the future.  The cost of living, just basically addressing Canadians’ needs to meet their needs day to day and month to month, nothing there. Climate change, really nothing.

Interim Leader of the Liberal Party Bob Rae (Toronto Centre)

I must say there was an air of I thought considerable complacency about the document, simply a reiteration of the program and platform that we’ve heard on so many occasions from the government.  I always find it interesting when you have a statement from the Government of Canada and the word poverty doesn’t appear in the document.  There’s no, I think, real recognition of the challenge that a great many Canadian families are still facing. I didn’t see much imagination in the document in terms of our economy, the challenges that we’re facing. But I guess having seen dozens of Throne Speeches over my political career, I didn’t see anything particularly surprising or dramatic about this one.

Elizabeth May (GPC – Saanich-Gulf Islands)

Today’s Speech from the Throne did not include anything that spoke to a vision for Canada.  It was a workman-like agenda that took the numbers of things in the Conservative Party platform and the previous budget and brought them forward once again.  It didn’t give us a long-term vision and in fact it actually retrenched from some things that were in the platform.  ….there was more content in the Conservative Party’s platform on plans for the reenactment and recognition of the bicentennial of the War of 1812 than there was on climate change. In this speech, there was no reference to climate change so we’ve actually seen a lack of even the smallest mention of the single largest threat.

 

 

Stephen Harper: 5+ years in office and about to hire his 6th communications director

For the record, Stephen Harper's communications directors since he became prime minister in 2006:

  • William Stairs – 2006 Fired two weeks after Harper took office. Believed to have counselled Harper to jump in and give David Emerson some political cover and Harper did not take kindly to that advice. Emerson ran as a Liberal in the 2006 election, won his riding, and but then quickly signed up to become a Conservative in Harper's cabinet. As Emerson was taking a pummelling for the switch, Stairs was trying to do communications damage control. He may also have been done in for being seen to be — gasp — on good personal terms with many members of the Parliamentary Press gallery. Later came back to PMO in charge of issues management but is now chief of staff to Bev Oda, the minister of international co-operation.
  • Sandra Buckler – 2006-2008 A lobbyist before the 2006 campaign and appeared during that campaign as a “Conservative strategist” on various political talk shows. Impressed the Conservative war room in that role (even got a call once from Brian Mulroney for doing such a good job) and became Stairs' successor as communications director. Relations between the Parliament Press Gallery and the PMO hit their lowest point during her tenure. It was during her term that the famous “list” for asking questions was asking established. During one press conference held on Parliament Hill, journalists boycotted a Harper press conference rather than submit to the list protocol. Is alleged to have famously told one journalist on Parliament Hill in response to a question: “Off the record? No comment.” Resigned on June 26, 2008. After a time away from government, later returned to become a senior political staffer. Is now the chief of staff to intergovernmental affairs minister Peter Penashue.
  • Kory Teneycke – 2008-2009 Also a lobbyist prior to joining the PMO, Teneycke had been most famous up to that point for inventing Corncob Bob as the mascot for the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association where he worked prior to succeeding Buckler. His title was slightly modified to be Director of Communication. Teneycke and Buckler shared the same communication objective, i.e. tight control of all MPs and ministers and a demonization of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, but where Buckler viewed the communications role as a shield, Teneycke viewed it as a sword. Relations improved somewhat between Hill journos and the PMO under Teneycke. He instituted occasional background briefings between journalists and his office. Teneycke saw Harper through the 2008 federal election before resigning on July 28, 2009. Teneycke later joined Quebecor Inc. with a mission to launch its new Sun News Network, where he is today as a company vice-president. (And, full disclosure, he is also the guy who hired me for the job I now hold.)
  • John Williamson – 2009-2010 Williamson was a journalist and former colleague at the National Post and went from there to head the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He joined the PMO in the middle of the fall of 2009 but, after a relatively uneventful few months, resigned in the spring of 2010 in order to seek the Conservative nomination in the riding of New Brunswick-Southwest. He successfully won that nomination and, on May 2, became the MP for that riding, succeeding the retired Greg Thompson.
  • Dimitri Soudas – 2010-2011 Soudas joined Harper's staff on Sept. 5, 2002 and, at this writing, is Harper's second longest serving aide. (Only Ray Novak, Harper's principal secretary, has been in Harper's inner circle longer). Soudas held a variety of communications roles within Harper's office eventually succeeding Williamson in early 2010 as director of communications. A fluently bilingual Montrealer, Soudas is widely seen as Harper's French-language crutch. Whenever Harper runs into trouble in French, he turns to Soudas. Soudas reviews any of Harper's French-language comments to make sure they are the right phrases. Soudas has also been Harper's top Quebec advisor for much his time with the prime minister and is credited with coming up with the “within a united Canada” amendment that neutered a BQ motion that would have the House of Commons recognize Quebec as a nation. Soudas also attempted to improve relations between the PMO and the Parliamentary Press Gallery with limited or uneven results. He announced he will depart his office on Sept. 5, 2011.

Comings and goings: Top PM aide to leave; Liberals name critics and caucus leaders

A bit of a busy morning on Parliament Hill with a few things to note:

  • The media were allowed into the first few minutes of the weekly meeting of the National Conservative Caucus (normally a closed-door event) in order to witness Prime Minister Stephen Harper individually welcoming each new member of his caucus. He then gave a brief speech before media were asked to leave and the caucus returned to its regular business. Here is an excerpt of the remarks he gave:

    What a privilege it is for all us Members of Parliament to have such a role in building this magnificent country, our Canada. Remember always these things about our country: Its history is greater than our individual achievements. Its future is more promising than our political careers. It is the land of ancient Aboriginal societies. It is the enduring partnership of Macdonald, Cartier and their colleagues. It is the place where people of all cultures come from the world over to live in freedom, democracy and justice together.

    Let the memory of our first day as Members of Parliament continue to inspire us all. Even more, let it keep us humble in the service of our country.

  • Then, during the meeting of the Conservative caucus, Dimitri Soudas, the prime minister's director of communications, announced that he will leave his post and depart the PMO on Sept. 5. Soudas is the second-longest serving aide to the prime minister (principal secretary Ray Novak has been with Harper longer), joining his office on Sept. 5, 2002. Soudas' departure is also noteworthy because Harper has come to rely on Soudas, a Montrealer, for advice on Quebec and rarely says a word in French without running it first by Soudas to make sure he's using the right phrases.
  • Meanwhile, while the Conservatives were holding their caucus, the Liberals were holding one of their own and, when interim leader Bob Rae emerged from that meeting, the Liberals had their new critics lineup and caucus leadership positions. The list of critics is here and the list of the caucus leaders is here. Among the notables: Marc Garneau is the Liberal House Leader (for which he will receive an extra $15,834 on top of his MP's salary), Kevin Lamoureux is the deputy house leader (with an extra $5,684in salary), Judy Foote is the whip (and will get an extra $11,165 in salary), Massimo Pacetti is deputy whip (with an extra $5,684 in salary, and Francis Scarpaleggia is the caucus chair (also qualifying, as a result of his position, for an extra $5,684 a year in salary). Ralph Goodale will be Rae's deputy leader but, notably, the position of deputy leader does not come with any thicker pay packet.
  • Liberal MP David McGuinty had been Opposition House Leader in the last Parliament but finds himself this time as simply the Liberal critic for Natural Resources. I don't necessarily see this as a demotion so much as I see it as a potential leadership candidate being freed up from important House duties to mount a bid, should he so choose, to be the party leader. No leadership race is underway, of course, but I note that those caucus members who do have other leadership positions — Foote, Pacetti, Scarpaleggia, Goodale, Garneau* and, of course, Rae — are unlikely leadership candidates. (*N.B. While Garneau was ready to be interim leader on condition he would not seek the leadership he did say, after Rae was selected under the same condition, that he would not rule out being considered for the permanent leader's job). In addition to McGuinty (critic for natural resources), the other potential leadership candidates in caucus are all critics: e.g. Denis Coderre (Transport), Dominic Leblanc (Foreign Affairs).

 

Ian Frazier's perfect opening

Ian Frazier has a wonderful opening paragraph as he begins his review of a new memoir by storied New York Times foreign correspondent John Darnton:

An important thing to know about memoirs is that although there are a lot of them already, there will soon be more. Seventy-six million baby boomers are reaching retirement age. Many of us own computers, and we find ourselves fascinating.

 

A great one passes: Gil Scott-Heron, 1949-2011

Gil Scott-Heron, a great poet, musician and one who many call the father of rap music, died last week at the too-young age of 62.

The Associated Press obituary covers all the bases:

Long before Public Enemy urged the need to “Fight the Power” or N.W.A. offered a crude rebuke of the police, Gil-Scott Heron was articulating the rage and the disillusionment of the black masses through song and spoken word.

Scott-Heron, widely considered one of the godfathers of rap with his piercing social and political prose laid against the backdrop of minimalist percussion, flute and other instrumentation, died on Friday at age 62. His was a life full of groundbreaking, revolutionary music and personal turmoil that included a battle with crack cocaine and stints behind bars in his later years . . . [Read the rest]

The folks at Open Culture have curated some decent links and have posted a video of Scott-Heron's “Where Did the Night Go”.

Here's the one that put Scott-Heron on the map: “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”:

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by mallox